Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Mark Renders, European Communities — CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1993 Ghana's Fourth Republic was inaugurated, with Jerry Rawlings sworn in as its first elected president under a new multi-party constitution.
Sources: Library of Congress country study (via Refworld) ; Graphic Online (Daily Graphic, Ghana)
Politics
Alvaro — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 2015 Georges Wolinski, the French cartoonist born in Tunis who had drawn for Charlie Hebdo since its founding, was killed in the attack on the magazine's Paris offices alongside fellow cartoonists Cabu, Charb, Honoré and Tignous.
Sources: France 24 ; Editions Larousse ; Committee to Protect Journalists
Death
World Economic Forum — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 1945 Raila Odinga, who went on to serve as Kenya's second prime minister and remained a defining figure in Kenyan politics for decades, was born (died 2025).
Sources: Britannica ; The Conversation (authored by Justin Willis, Gabrielle Lynch, Karuti Kanyinga and Nic Cheeseman) ; NBC News
Birth
Bob Ramsak — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1991 Caster Semenya, South African Olympic and world champion middle-distance runner, was born.
Sources: World Athletics ; South African History Online
Birth
Tanjagari — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1978 Ethiopia's rock-hewn churches at Lalibela were among the first twelve sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, in 1978. The eleven medieval churches remain the centre of Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas, Ledet or Genna, celebrated each January 7 under the Ge'ez calendar.
Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre ; The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History) ; TIME
Culture